TexPIRG - Health Carehttps://texpirg.org/topics/health-care
enPrices of common medications can vary by hundreds of dollarshttps://texpirg.org/news/txp/prices-common-medications-can-vary-hundreds-dollars
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For Immediate release
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<span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2019-03-05T00:00:00-05:00">Tuesday, March 5, 2019</span>
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<div class="field field-name-field-author-bio field-type-node-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/staff/usp/bay-scoggin">Bay Scoggin</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden">
<p class="MsoNormal">While many Americans struggle to afford their prescription drugs, TexPIRG Education Fund’s <a href="https://uspirg.org/feature/usp/real-price-medications">survey</a> of retail prices of commonly-prescribed medications found patients can save hundreds, even thousands of dollars in some cases by shopping around at pharmacies within their communities.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Texans shouldn’t have to forgo life-saving medicines. But when they don't realize there are more affordable options at a different pharmacy, some have to do exactly that,” said Bay Scoggin, TexPIRG Education Fund’s Director. “Our medications don’t work any better when we pay more for them. We need a transparent prescription drug system that delivers value to patients at a reasonable price, instead of confusing and price-gouging them."</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Retail prescription drug spending represents about 10 percent of the overall national health expenditures in America, while nearly 1 in 4 Americans <a href="https://www.kff.org/health-costs/poll-finding/kaiser-health-tracking-poll-august-2015/">struggle to afford their prescription </a><a href="https://www.kff.org/health-costs/poll-finding/kaiser-health-tracking-poll-august-2015/">drugs</a> primarily because of inflated prices.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">TexPIRG Education Fund’s report, <a href="https://uspirg.org/feature/usp/real-price-medications"><em>The Real Price of Medications</em></a><a href="https://uspirg.org/feature/usp/real-price-medications"><em>: A Survey of Pharmaceutical Prices</em></a>, released today, reveals a wide variation in the retail pricing of prescription drugs by pharmacies large and small, urban and rural. The report looked at prices in Dallas, El Paso, and Gainesville.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">U.S. PIRG Education Fund surveyed more than 250 pharmacies in 11 states for cash prices on 12 common drugs. Researchers found that consumers face a dizzying array of price differences:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">● Patients could save from $102 - $5,400 a year between minimum and median prices of the selected medications by shopping around.<strong></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">● Prescription drug price variation appeared disconnected from where the medicines were sold in urban and rural locations across many states; the median price for the surveyed brand and generic drugs varied an average of 892 percent from the cheapest available price. <strong></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">● Switching from brand name drugs to generic alternatives can help save money. For example, switching from the brand acid reflux medication Nexium to its generic could save a patient an estimated $756 annually.<strong></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">● Brand name drugs did not adjust to competition from generic drugs, even years after they entered the market. For instance, patients who switch from branded Lipitor to its generic could save an estimated $3,927 annually.<strong></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">● Large chain pharmacies tend to have higher prices than their small chain or independent counterparts, despite having more leverage in the marketplace. Eight of the 12 drugs in the survey had higher median prices of 8.8 percent to 840 percent at large chains compared to small or independent pharmacies.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The authors point out that these high prices negatively impact the value patients get from medications, adding that paying more for their life-saving medicines doesn’t make you any healthier -- and the added expense can make treatments harder while triggering hard financial tradeoffs.</p>
<p>“The status quo can’t continue. Patients can’t afford it, for their health or their finances. We need our government to address the problem and make sure that Americans get the value they deserve from their health care,” finished Scoggin.</p>
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<div class="field field-name-field-term-topics field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">
<a href="/topics/health-care" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Health Care</a>
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<a href="/issues/txp/consumer-protection">Consumer Protection</a>
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New survey reveals large disparities, little logic in retail Rx pricing
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TexPIRG Education Fund
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<p class="MsoNormal">While many Americans struggle to afford their prescription drugs, TexPIRG Education Fund’s <a href="https://uspirg.org/feature/usp/real-price-medications">survey</a> of retail prices of commonly-prescribed medications found patients can save hundreds, even thousands of dollars in some cases by shopping around at pharmacies within their communities.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">"Texans shouldn’t have to forgo life-saving medicines. But when they don't realize there are more affordable options at a different pharmacy, some have to do exactly that,” said Bay Scoggin, TexPIRG Education Fund’s Director. “Our medications don’t work any better when we pay more for them. We need a transparent prescription drug system that delivers value to patients at a reasonable price, instead of confusing and price-gouging them."</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Retail prescription drug spending represents about 10 percent of the overall national health expenditures in America, while nearly 1 in 4 Americans <a href="https://www.kff.org/health-costs/poll-finding/kaiser-health-tracking-poll-august-2015/">struggle to afford their prescription </a><a href="https://www.kff.org/health-costs/poll-finding/kaiser-health-tracking-poll-august-2015/">drugs</a> primarily because of inflated prices.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">TexPIRG Education Fund’s report, <a href="https://uspirg.org/feature/usp/real-price-medications"><em>The Real Price of Medications</em></a><a href="https://uspirg.org/feature/usp/real-price-medications"><em>: A Survey of Pharmaceutical Prices</em></a>, released today, reveals a wide variation in the retail pricing of prescription drugs by pharmacies large and small, urban and rural. The report looked at prices in Dallas, El Paso, and Gainesville.</p>
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Tue, 05 Mar 2019 15:07:17 +0000bscoggin72271 at https://texpirg.orghttps://texpirg.org/news/txp/prices-common-medications-can-vary-hundreds-dollars#commentsThe Real Price of Medicationshttps://texpirg.org/reports/txp/real-price-medications
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<img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://texpirg.org/sites/pirg/files/styles/report-image/public/reports/images/TXP%20Rx%20Price%20Report%20Feb19.jpg?itok=-pijyTRw" width="200" height="260" />
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Released by:
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TexPIRG Education Fund
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Release date:
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<span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2019-03-05T00:00:00-05:00">Tuesday, March 5, 2019</span>
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<a href="/news/txp/prices-common-medications-can-vary-hundreds-dollars">Prices of common medications can vary by hundreds of dollars</a>
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<span class="file"><img class="file-icon" alt="PDF icon" title="application/pdf" src="/modules/file/icons/application-pdf.png" /> <a href="https://texpirg.org/sites/pirg/files/reports/TXP%20Rx%20Price%20Report%20Feb19.pdf" type="application/pdf; length=618605" title="TXP Rx Price Report Feb19.pdf">The Real Price of Medications</a></span>
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<p>People living in the United States have access to some of the best medical care in the world, from life-saving drugs to cutting-edge surgical techniques. But our system is deeply flawed, with spiraling costs forcing many Americans to spend more on care and often receiving poor quality care for all the extra money spent.<a title="" href="///C:/Users/Bay%20Scoggin/Documents/Issues/Healthcare/Paying%20the%20Price/Real%20Price%20of%20Medication%20Final%20Draft.docx#_edn1">[i]</a> <a title="" href="///C:/Users/Bay%20Scoggin/Documents/Issues/Healthcare/Paying%20the%20Price/Real%20Price%20of%20Medication%20Final%20Draft.docx#_edn2">[ii]</a></p>
<p>Retail prescription drug costs represent about 10% of the total national healthcare expenditure in America and are a public concern because of existing high prices, which often continue to climb.<a title="" href="///C:/Users/Bay%20Scoggin/Documents/Issues/Healthcare/Paying%20the%20Price/Real%20Price%20of%20Medication%20Final%20Draft.docx#_edn3">[iii]</a> <a title="" href="///C:/Users/Bay%20Scoggin/Documents/Issues/Healthcare/Paying%20the%20Price/Real%20Price%20of%20Medication%20Final%20Draft.docx#_edn4">[iv]</a> In fact, nearly 1 in 4 Americans on medication struggle to afford their prescription drugs - and that rises to more than 4 in 10 for individuals in worse health.<a title="" href="///C:/Users/Bay%20Scoggin/Documents/Issues/Healthcare/Paying%20the%20Price/Real%20Price%20of%20Medication%20Final%20Draft.docx#_edn5">[v]</a> Research on these high health care expenses (including prescription drug expenses) in comparison to other countries show that this difficult cost burden is driven primarily by inflated prices: not differences in the drugs used, our aging population, nor the amount of drugs prescribed.”<a title="" href="///C:/Users/Bay%20Scoggin/Documents/Issues/Healthcare/Paying%20the%20Price/Real%20Price%20of%20Medication%20Final%20Draft.docx#_edn6">[vi]</a>,<a title="" href="///C:/Users/Bay%20Scoggin/Documents/Issues/Healthcare/Paying%20the%20Price/Real%20Price%20of%20Medication%20Final%20Draft.docx#_edn7">[vii]</a></p>
<p>These high prices decimate the delivered value we get from medications. The main problem is this: although a patient may pay more for their life saving medicine, they are not getting any more health value for the extra money spent.</p>
<p>Research shows that high prices lead patients to engage in risky behaviors, including medication rationing or altering dosages without doctor’s consent.<a title="" href="///C:/Users/Bay%20Scoggin/Documents/Issues/Healthcare/Paying%20the%20Price/Real%20Price%20of%20Medication%20Final%20Draft.docx#_edn8">[viii]</a>,<a title="" href="///C:/Users/Bay%20Scoggin/Documents/Issues/Healthcare/Paying%20the%20Price/Real%20Price%20of%20Medication%20Final%20Draft.docx#_edn9">[ix]</a> Nearly 17% of older adults exhibit this non-adherence behavior, the highest among 11 comparably wealthy countries.<a title="" href="///C:/Users/Bay%20Scoggin/Documents/Issues/Healthcare/Paying%20the%20Price/Real%20Price%20of%20Medication%20Final%20Draft.docx#_edn10">[x]</a> Physician treatment plans don’t work when patients can’t follow them, and research shows that medical treatment deviations account for major proportions of treatment failures and many hospital and nursing home admissions.<a title="" href="///C:/Users/Bay%20Scoggin/Documents/Issues/Healthcare/Paying%20the%20Price/Real%20Price%20of%20Medication%20Final%20Draft.docx#_edn11">[xi]</a></p>
<p>The picture is even more concerning when you consider that drug prices can vary greatly within cities, states and regions of the United States. Doctors may prescribe more expensive medication that is just as effective as other options, or patients may decide to forgo treatment, when more affordable options could be available at the pharmacy around the corner. Sometimes, the best treatment may be what the patient can consistently stick to, but with providers and patients unsure about prescription drug prices, that treatment decision becomes even more daunting.</p>
<p>We surveyed the cash prices on 12 common drugs in a manner intended to approximate patient experiences - calling more than 250 pharmacies across 33 census-designated areas in 11 states. We found consumers face a dizzying array of pharmacy options as well as significant price differences:</p>
<ul><li>We found patients could save between $102 - $5,400 a year between minimum and median prices of the selected medications by shopping around.<strong></strong></li>
<li>Prescription drug prices are disconnected from clear factors; the median price for the surveyed brand and generic drugs varied an average of 892 percent from the cheapest available price. <strong></strong></li>
<li>Switching from brand name drugs to generic alternatives can help save money. For example, switching from the brand acid reflux medication Nexium to its generic could save a patient an estimated $756 annually.<strong></strong></li>
<li>Brand name drugs did not adjust to competition from generic drugs, even years after they entered the market. For instance, patients who switch from branded Lipitor to its generic could save an estimated $3,927 annually.<strong></strong></li>
<li>Large chain pharmacies tend to have higher prices than their small chain or independent counterparts, despite having more leverage in the marketplace. Nine of the 12 drugs in the survey had higher median prices of 8.8 percent to 840 percent at large chains compared to small or independent pharmacies.</li>
</ul><p>These wide variations in prescription drug pricing are a sign of a broken market, further evidenced by price spikes in prescription drug prices.<a title="" href="///C:/Users/Bay%20Scoggin/Documents/Issues/Healthcare/Paying%20the%20Price/Real%20Price%20of%20Medication%20Final%20Draft.docx#_edn12">[xii]</a> The consequences can be severe, as Americans are often unable to navigate prescription drug pricing, nor can they afford to say no to life-saving medicines.</p>
<p>Our drug supply system is a complex web of agreements, middlemen, and failures of competition that often leaves patients at the mercy of high prescription drug prices that don't deliver the health return those prices imply.<a title="" href="///C:/Users/Bay%20Scoggin/Documents/Issues/Healthcare/Paying%20the%20Price/Real%20Price%20of%20Medication%20Final%20Draft.docx#_edn13">[xiii]</a> Manufacturers set high list prices and further complicate the picture with a maze of coupons and rebates to supposedly offset those costs. A broken patent system grants exclusive control to drugs for far too long, leading to further abuse. Middlemen, known as Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), handle drug coverage for most insurers, but sometimes pocket the savings instead of passing them on to patients or the public and private insurers. Moreover, they practice “spread pricing,” adding cost but no value to health care treatments. Wholesalers pay multiple prices without disclosure to the public, while pharmacists set ludicrous retail prices to increase their negotiating leverage with PBMs. In the end, insurers foot the bill for all of these expenses, which then get passed down to vulnerable patients via high premiums, or as our report highlights, through higher direct cash prices.</p>
<p>It is clear that if we don’t make meaningful reforms, patients will continue to see their health care lose value and become harder to access. Fortunately, practical policy solutions will help reduce costs and drive patients and providers to use more high value and affordable drugs that deliver care at lower prices. We can do this through:</p>
<ul><li><em>Addressing Monopolization &amp; Lack of Competition</em></li>
</ul><p>○ <em>End patent abuses that delay generic drugs.</em></p>
<p>○ <em>Reform the patent system to ensure it’s driving innovation.</em></p>
<p>○ <em>Allow importation of prescription drugs with FDA approved versions sold in the United States. </em></p>
<p>○ <em>Study the impact of vertical and horizontal mergers across the drug supply chain.</em></p>
<ul><li><em>Comprehensive Transparency:</em></li>
</ul><p>○ <em>Require public disclosure of prescription drug prices at each step of the drug supply chain, including input costs like research and advertising and patient assistance programs; and reimbursements provided to the government, insurers, pharmacies and patients. This information could serve as a foundation from which policy-makers can base further prescription price reforms, and as a way to help patients understand their costs. </em></p>
<p>○ <em>Disclose prices for prescriptions online. </em></p>
<p>○ <em>Enable providers to share clinical efficacy and useable prescription drug pricing for their patients in an integrated database system. </em></p>
<ul><li><em>Price Gouging Protection</em></li>
</ul><p>○ <em>Create state boards of experts to examine prescription drug pricing (based on above transparency) and evaluate what are the best steps to reform the broken market. </em></p>
<p>○ <em>Enact laws that require notification of price increases above inflation, require justification for that increase, and empower the state and federal governments to reject indefensible increases.</em></p>
<p>○ <em>Incorporate value-based pricing and comparative effectiveness into price setting on prescription drugs.</em></p>
<ul><li><em>Fixing Healthcare System Incentives</em></li>
</ul><p><em>Set responsible limits on pharmaceutical companies’ physician-targeted sales tactics </em><br />
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A Survey of Variations in Prescription Drug Prices
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Tue, 05 Mar 2019 14:45:30 +0000bscoggin72251 at https://texpirg.orghttps://texpirg.org/reports/txp/real-price-medications#commentsRight to Repair is a simple way to cut health care costshttps://texpirg.org/blogs/blog/usp/right-repair-simple-way-cut-health-care%C2%A0costs
<div class="field field-name-field-shared-post-date field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2018-09-11T00:00:00-04:00">Tuesday, September 11, 2018</span></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden">
<p class="graf graf--p"><img alt="" class="media-image" typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://texpirg.org/sites/pirg/files/styles/large/public/DSC_0248.JPG?itok=hMjQBXCS" /></p>
<p class="graf graf--p"><em>Medical Device Repair, Credit Gary Fansler, Association of Medical Device Service Organizations</em></p>
<p class="graf graf--p">Cost containment is is a critical first step in addressing the deep faults in our health care system — it’s hard to image fixing problems of access if we continue to be charged <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" href="http://mbamedical.com/10-rediculously-overpriced-hospital-charges/" rel="noopener" target="_blank" data-href="http://mbamedical.com/10-rediculously-overpriced-hospital-charges/">$15 for a Tylenol pill</a> or <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" href="https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/13/the-cure-for-the-1000-toothbrush/" rel="noopener" target="_blank" data-href="https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/13/the-cure-for-the-1000-toothbrush/">$1,000 for a toothbrush</a>.</p>
<p class="graf graf--p">It turns out that overpriced equipment repair helps add to those inflated costs. </p>
<p class="graf graf--p">Hospitals account for more than <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" href="https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/NationalHealthExpendData/downloads/highlights.pdf" rel="noopener" target="_blank" data-href="https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/NationalHealthExpendData/downloads/highlights.pdf">$1 trillion in American health care costs each year, about one third of our</a> total health care spending. Overall, Americans spend <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-spending/u-s-health-spending-twice-other-countries-with-worse-results-idUSKCN1GP2YN" rel="noopener" target="_blank" data-href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-spending/u-s-health-spending-twice-other-countries-with-worse-results-idUSKCN1GP2YN">more than twice what other wealthy countries pay</a> for our health care, and get worse results. Finding ways to cut costs is essential — especially if those methods don’t negatively impact the quality of care.</p>
<p class="graf graf--p">U.S. PIRG has long advocated for new tools to drive down those costs by <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" href="https://uspirg.org/issues/usp/make-health-care-work-better-america" rel="noopener" target="_blank" data-href="https://uspirg.org/issues/usp/make-health-care-work-better-america">pushing for price transparency, drug pricing reforms, and reducing administrative overhead allowances for insurers</a>. We see Right to Repair as a simple way that hospitals can reduce overhead — and a growing body of research demonstrates that it would not reduce the quality of care in any way.</p>
<h3 class="graf graf--h3"><strong class="markup--strong markup--h3-strong">A monopoly on repair drives up hospital costs </strong></h3>
<p class="graf graf--p">The equipment used in hospitals is very pricey. An MRI machine can cost anywhere from <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" href="http://time.com/money/2995166/why-does-mri-cost-so-much/" rel="noopener" target="_blank" data-href="http://time.com/money/2995166/why-does-mri-cost-so-much/">$150,000 to about $3 million</a>, and it’s important for hospitals to maintain those machines, and all the other equipment they use.</p>
<p class="graf graf--p">The original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of medical equipment typically offer contracted repair services for their equipment, but the price can be steep — between 10 and 15 percent of the original cost of the product.[1] That means if you have a $1 million MRI machine, you would be paying $100,000 — $150,000 in annual service charges. An independent repair provider might cost half of that, in the neighborhood of 5–8 percent. The cost would be even lower for hospitals that have their own in-house repair services, around 3–4 percent. So, repair options could potentially mean $100,000 per year savings on just one machine.</p>
<p class="graf graf--p">Competition in repairs could cut maintenance costs in half, and the total value of that savings adds up. Maintaining medical equipment is a significant cost for hospitals — tens of billions of dollars nationally per year, according to industry experts.</p>
<p class="graf graf--p">Unfortunately, many of the OEMs refuse to provide the parts and information needed to properly maintain equipment, allowing them to overcharge for these services. For example, you might not be able to calibrate the MRI machine without technical information about that process, information that the OEMs won’t give out in order to force you to contract repair service with the manufacturer. Because Right to Repair would require OEMs to make parts and tools available at a fair price, and give access to service manuals, diagnostic software and firmware, it would break a monopoly on repair.</p>
<h3 class="graf graf--h3"><strong class="markup--strong markup--h3-strong">Repair options means less equipment downtime</strong></h3>
<p class="graf graf--p">Additionally, the monopoly on repair has consequences beyond high costs. Convenience and timeliness are important factors when it comes managing a hospital. Dealing with machines that are maintained by their manufacturer alone can lead to waiting for specific service agents to come when it fits into their schedule. Limited options for repair leads to longer repair timelines, causing patient backups and other logistical problems, all of which adds to the cost.</p>
<h4 class="graf graf--h4"><strong class="markup--strong markup--h4-strong">Independent repair has proven safe</strong></h4>
<p class="graf graf--p">In most states that have proposed Right to Repair laws, medical device manufacturers and their trade associations have been quick to push back, <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" href="https://repair.org/news/2017/5/3/advamed-phillips-and-medtronic-fight-for-the-right-to-monopolize" rel="noopener" target="_blank" data-href="https://repair.org/news/2017/5/3/advamed-phillips-and-medtronic-fight-for-the-right-to-monopolize">claiming that non-OEM repair is dangerous</a>. But a growing body of evidence has shown this is simply not backed up by the data.</p>
<p class="graf graf--p">A recent study found that <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-uUP5FmNN16QzEzY2N5a2hMSjlkdEg3OWFldkJjVnhjU3Qw/view?usp=sharing" rel="noopener" target="_blank" data-href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-uUP5FmNN16QzEzY2N5a2hMSjlkdEg3OWFldkJjVnhjU3Qw/view?usp=sharing">of 2.1 million device failure reports</a> submitted to the FDA over the past 10 years, only 0.005 percent of failures could be attributed to service or maintenance issues. The failures are from both OEMs and independent repairs. Here is the conclusion of their report:</p>
<blockquote class="graf graf--blockquote"><p>Based on the results of ECRI Institute’s detailed database searches spanning the past 10 years, and on its monitoring of medical device problems and hazards for more than 40 years, we do not believe that a safety problem exists with the servicing, maintenance, and repair of medical devices by either third-party organizations or OEMs.</p></blockquote>
<p class="graf graf--p">In other words, faulty repair is incredibly rare, and doesn’t justify tens of billions of dollars in extra health care spending.</p>
<p class="graf graf--p">In addition, the FDA undertook a study to determine if there should be additional regulations around medical device repair, a move the OEMs were calling for in order to protect their repair monopolies. The FDA decision was that there was <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" href="https://www.fda.gov/downloads/RegulatoryInformation/LawsEnforcedbyFDA/SignificantAmendmentstotheFDCAct/FDARA/UCM607469.pdf" rel="noopener" target="_blank" data-href="https://www.fda.gov/downloads/RegulatoryInformation/LawsEnforcedbyFDA/SignificantAmendmentstotheFDCAct/FDARA/UCM607469.pdf">no cause to impose new regulations</a>: “FDA will not issue additional regulatory requirements regarding the servicing of medical equipment, as there is insufficient evidence to justify additional regulations.”</p>
<p class="graf graf--p">It should be noted there are FDA rules about medical equipment. The supervising doctor or supervising medical engineer is responsible for the safe operation of medical equipment. It just turns out that these folks are doing the job, and don’t need any more oversight.</p>
<p class="graf graf--p"><strong class="markup--strong markup--p-strong">What about places the manufacturers don’t have “authorized” service providers? <br /></strong>For us in the United States, this issue is primarily about unnecessary cost, but what about places where OEM repair is not even offered?</p>
<p class="graf graf--p">In much of the developing world, OEM repair is not an option. By blocking access to critical service information, it means that critical life saving equipment has no chance of being serviced properly. It either doesn’t work at all, or people try to fix it without critical information. The World Health Organization estimates that <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" href="http://www.frankshospitalworkshop.com/home/about_this_website.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank" data-href="http://www.frankshospitalworkshop.com/home/about_this_website.html">50 percent of medical equipment in developing countries isn’t in operation and in some places that percentage is well past 80.</a> Right to Repair would give critical access to technical documents allowing people to properly fix this equipment.</p>
<p class="graf graf--p">The facts about medical device repair — the huge added costs and clear lack of benefits from OEM repair — make a clear argument that right to repair reforms are necessarily. <a class="markup--anchor markup--p-anchor" href="https://uspirg.webaction.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=24472" rel="noopener" target="_blank" data-href="https://uspirg.webaction.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=24472">Agree? Take action, and call for your state to pass Right to Repair.</a></p>
<p class="graf graf--p"><em class="markup--em markup--p-em">David Peters contributed to this post.</em></p>
<ol class="postList"><li class="graf graf--li"><em class="markup--em markup--li-em">This estimate was based on the testimony of Paul C. Monahan, Jr. Director of Clinical Engineering of ISS Solutions, in a hearing in New Hampshire on Right to Repair, and corroborated by Stephen L. Grimes who has 40 years in the industry.</em></li>
</ol>
</div>
<ul class="field field-name-field-term-topics field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">
<li class="field-item even">
<a href="/topics/health-care" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Health Care</a> </li>
<li class="field-item odd">
<a href="/topics/solid-waste" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Solid Waste</a> </li>
</ul>
Tue, 11 Sep 2018 15:56:18 +0000nproctor67331 at https://texpirg.orghttps://texpirg.org/blogs/blog/usp/right-repair-simple-way-cut-health-care%C2%A0costs#commentsSecond recall of King Bio’s homeopathic drugs in the past monthhttps://texpirg.org/news/usp/second-recall-king-bio%E2%80%99s-homeopathic-drugs-past-month
<div class="field field-name-field-newsrelease-status field-type-text field-label-hidden">
For Immediate Release
</div>
<div class="field field-name-field-shared-post-date field-type-datetime field-label-hidden">
<span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2018-08-27T00:00:00-04:00">Monday, August 27, 2018</span>
</div>
<div class="field field-name-field-author-bio field-type-node-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/staff/usp/adam-garber">Adam Garber</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden">
<p>PHILADELPHIA, PA -- King Bio Inc. issued the second significant voluntary recall since late July of their homeopathic drugs on Wednesday. This time, it recalled 32 children’s medicines due to possible microbial contamination that could cause life-threatening infections. The market for homeopathic drugs has ballooned over the past decade into a $3 billion industry that is exposing more and more people to health risks associated with the spread of untested products.</p>
<p>On July 20, King Bio issued a nationwide recall after a routine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspection found dangerous microbial contaminants in three products, including baby teething liquids. These recalls follow a January FDA letter to King Bio warning it that all claims about its products health benefits must be supported by scientific evidence. As a result, the Federal Trade Commission has strongly urged King Bio to review its health-related claims.</p>
<p>Safety concerns over homeopathic drugs extend beyond King Bio as over the past several years, the FDA has issued recalls to several companies for a variety of health products from zinc-containing intranasal medicine to asthma drugs with toxic ingredients. </p>
<p>“This latest recall is another reminder that our lax regulation of homeopathic medicine has put our children and our families at risk. We need better mechanisms for ensuring that these products are adequately tested before they hit our store shelves, instead of after,” said Tano Toussaint, Consumer Watchdog Associate for U.S. PIRG. </p>
<p>Since 1988, the FDA has allowed homeopathy companies to distribute and manufacture products without going through the same approval, branding, and purity tests as other drugs. Scott Gottleib, the commissioner of the FDA, said “products labeled as homeopathic have not been reviewed by the #FDA for safety and effectiveness.” In December of 2017, the FDA strengthened its enforcement of homeopathics, saying it would take a “risk-based approach” to regulation and pull products deemed unsafe off the market, whether they have been approved or not. However, the FDA admits that some homeopathic products may slip through the cracks. Beyond that, the agency lacks a consistent enforcement mechanism for recalling unsafe products. </p>
<p>With its updated policy, the FDA has put King Bio and the homeopathic drug industry under heightened scrutiny. However, given how ubiquitous and dangerous these products can be, the FDA needs to step up and increase enforcement and standards for homeopathic medicines. </p>
</div>
<div class="field field-name-field-term-topics field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">
<div class="field-item even">
<a href="/topics/public-health" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Public Health</a> </div>
<div class="field-item odd">
<a href="/topics/consumer-protection" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Consumer Protection</a> </div>
<div class="field-item even">
<a href="/topics/health-care" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Health Care</a> </div>
</div>
<div class="field field-name-field-shared-subtitle field-type-text field-label-hidden">
Homeopathic drugs regularly slip through FDA process
</div>
<div class="field field-name-field-shared-organization field-type-text field-label-hidden">
U.S. PIRG
</div>
<div class="field field-name-field-shared-summary field-type-text-long field-label-hidden">
<p>King Bio Inc. issued the second significant voluntary recall since late July of their homeopathic drugs on Wednesday. Safety concerns over homeopathic drugs extend beyond King Bio as over the past several years, the FDA has issued recalls to several companies for a variety of health products from zinc-containing intranasal medicine to asthma drugs with toxic ingredients. </p>
</div>
Mon, 27 Aug 2018 13:32:14 +0000agarber67156 at https://texpirg.orghttps://texpirg.org/news/usp/second-recall-king-bio%E2%80%99s-homeopathic-drugs-past-month#commentsNew health care executive order is a step in the wrong directionhttps://texpirg.org/news/usp/new-health-care-executive-order-step-wrong-direction
<div class="field field-name-field-newsrelease-status field-type-text field-label-hidden">
For Immediate Release
</div>
<div class="field field-name-field-shared-post-date field-type-datetime field-label-hidden">
<span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2017-10-12T00:00:00-04:00">Thursday, October 12, 2017</span>
</div>
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden">
<p>Today, President Trump signed a new Executive Order that aims to loosen up rules for health insurance plans for individuals, families and small businesses. Though the administration touts the potential for lower-cost health insurance under looser rules, this action will not help American consumers. In fact, it is likely to make matters worse by destabilizing the markets Americans rely on for health coverage. American consumers need real action on health care costs, but this simply will not cut it.</p>
<p>Most importantly, this Executive Order will not do anything about the most serious underlying problem in the American health care system, which is that health care is simply too expensive and is failing to provide an acceptable value proposition for consumers. It is easy to make health insurance cheaper by offering worse insurance, less insurance, or insurance that will not be there when you most need it. But what consumers really need is action to improve the value proposition of health care so that real, high-quality insurance is available at a more reasonable cost.</p>
<p>If the President and Congress want to get serious about improving the value proposition of health care in this country, there are countless measures policymakers could take that would make a big difference, such as addressing the rising cost of prescription drugs and taking action to hold the health care industry more accountable to consumers. Real progress may be difficult due to opposition from powerful health care industry interests, but it’s really not that hard to see what <a href="http://uspirg.org/issues/usp/make-health-care-work-better-america">needs to be done</a>.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, this Executive Order simply does not deliver what American consumers need. Congress and the states should take action to protect consumers and small businesses from the harms this action may cause. But even more importantly, we urge policymakers to advance real health reforms that will finally address the serious underlying problems in the American health care system.</p>
<p> </p>
</div>
<div class="field field-name-field-term-topics field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">
<a href="/topics/health-care" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Health Care</a>
</div>
<div class="field field-name-field-shared-summary field-type-text-long field-label-hidden">
<p>Today, President Trump signed a new Executive Order that aims to loosen up rules for health insurance plans for individuals, families and small businesses. Though the administration touts the potential for lower-cost health insurance under looser rules, this action will not help American consumers. In fact, it is likely to make matters worse by destabilizing the markets Americans rely on for health coverage. American consumers need real action on health care costs, but this simply will not cut it.</p>
</div>
Thu, 12 Oct 2017 21:28:27 +0000tmccann58006 at https://texpirg.orghttps://texpirg.org/news/usp/new-health-care-executive-order-step-wrong-direction#commentsCalifornia’s new drug price law is a win for consumers nationwidehttps://texpirg.org/news/usp/california%E2%80%99s-new-drug-price-law-win-consumers-nationwide
<div class="field field-name-field-newsrelease-status field-type-text field-label-hidden">
For Immediate Release
</div>
<div class="field field-name-field-shared-post-date field-type-datetime field-label-hidden">
<span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2017-10-09T00:00:00-04:00">Monday, October 9, 2017</span>
</div>
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden">
<p>Today, California Governor Jerry Brown signed <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB17">Senate Bill 17</a> into law, a groundbreaking measure to increase transparency and accountability for the prescription drug industry. We celebrate the new law—passed with <a href="http://www.calpirg.org/blogs/blog/cap/pulling-back-curtain-prescription-drug-prices">support and hard work from CALPIRG</a>—as a landmark victory for consumers, not just in California, but nationwide.</p>
<p>SB 17 will provide the general public with invaluable information about drug prices and drug price hikes. Since the prescription drug market is national, this information will effectively be available nationwide, making the new law a potential game changer in the fight to contain rising prescription drug costs.</p>
<p>The high cost of prescription drugs has been a perennial concern for American consumers. A new crop of life-changing but <a href="https://www.finance.senate.gov/ranking-members-news/wyden-grassley-sovaldi-investigation-finds-revenue-driven-pricing-strategy-behind-84-000-hepatitis-drug">extraordinarily expensive specialty drugs</a> that have come on the market in recent years and headline-grabbing <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mylan-nl-epipen-congress-idUSKCN11R2OG">price hikes</a> for <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/insulin-new-epipen-families-facing-sticker-shock-over-400-percent-n667536">older medications</a> that had previously been available at reasonable prices have combined to bring new urgency to the issue. Rising prescription drug costs are a burden on all Americans—not just the patients who depend upon expensive specialty drugs—through rising health insurance premiums, rising costs for businesses and a growing burden on local, state and federal budgets.</p>
<p>Experts agree that prices often have little to no correlation to what the manufacturer spends to research and develop drugs, and that R&amp;D costs are <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/09/11/550135932/r-d-costs-for-cancer-drugs-are-likely-much-less-than-industry-claims-study-finds">often overstated</a> by the drug industry. One of the conditions that enables escalating drug prices is a lack of transparency and accountability regarding prescription drug manufacturers’ pricing practices.</p>
<p>SB 17 by itself will not entirely solve the problem of skyrocketing prices for prescription drugs, but it is a critical first step toward holding the pharmaceutical industry accountable.</p>
<p>The new law requires prescription drug corporations to give 60-day advance notice before they increase prices, and require an explanation and justification for the increase. With this bill, California is pulling back the curtain to expose surprise price hikes before they happen, and shining some much-needed sunlight on what goes into the price of a drug.</p>
<p>This matters for consumers nationwide because the information about manufacturers’ price justifications and upcoming price hikes is of national significance and will be accessible to everyone in the United States. The required price justifications will be posted to a public website accessible to all Americans. The price hike notifications will be available to all public and private health care purchasers, including California state government and commercial health insurance plans, who will be free to share the information with the general public. Since manufacturers’ prices and price hikes are determined on a national basis, this information will be relevant to all Americans.</p>
<p>Making this information available is unlikely to be enough on its own to contain prescription drug prices for consumers. But by informing purchasing decisions by consumers, employers, health insurers and government programs—and by putting greater public pressure on drug companies to keep prices justifiable—its impact could be substantial.</p>
<p>The fight for reasonable prescription drug prices is far from over. Drug manufacturers are likely to challenge the implementation of the law at every step, and to fight it in court. But California’s new law represents one of the most important victories for consumers against the power of pharmaceutical corporate interests in American history, and deserves to be celebrated.</p>
</div>
<div class="field field-name-field-term-topics field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">
<div class="field-item even">
<a href="/topics/consumer-protection" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Consumer Protection</a> </div>
<div class="field-item odd">
<a href="/topics/health-care" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Health Care</a> </div>
</div>
<div class="field field-name-field-shared-summary field-type-text-long field-label-hidden">
<p>Today, California Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 17 into law, a groundbreaking measure to increase transparency and accountability for the prescription drug industry. We celebrate the new law—passed with support and hard work from CALPIRG—as a landmark victory for consumers, not just in California, but nationwide.</p>
</div>
Mon, 09 Oct 2017 19:23:28 +0000tmccann57906 at https://texpirg.orghttps://texpirg.org/news/usp/california%E2%80%99s-new-drug-price-law-win-consumers-nationwide#commentsOur Statement in Opposition to Graham-Cassidy Health Care Billhttps://texpirg.org/news/usp/our-statement-opposition-graham-cassidy-health-care-bill
<div class="field field-name-field-newsrelease-status field-type-text field-label-hidden">
For Immediate Release
</div>
<div class="field field-name-field-shared-post-date field-type-datetime field-label-hidden">
<span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2017-09-25T00:00:00-04:00">Monday, September 25, 2017</span>
</div>
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden">
<p>The latest version of health care legislation before the U.S. Senate remains very dangerous for American consumers, and we urge a “no” vote.</p>
<p>The bill known as <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/8/1/16074746/cassidy-graham-obamacare-repeal">Graham-Cassidy</a> contains some new elements, such as provisions that give state governments more authority over health care financing and consumer protections. But the basic problems with the previous versions in the <a href="http://www.uspirg.org/blogs/blog/usp/our-statement-american-health-care-act?_ga=2.156809787.1277870416.1506366167-1964338457.1500399988">House</a> and <a href="http://www.uspirg.org/news/usp/our-statement-senate-health-care-bill">Senate</a> remain. This bill threatens to spark chaos in health insurance markets, raise costs, degrade quality of care, weaken protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and cause millions of Americans to lose health coverage.</p>
<p>Most importantly, this bill doesn’t even begin to address the <a href="http://uspirg.org/issues/usp/make-health-care-work-better-america">biggest problems</a> with the American health care system, starting with the fact that our health care system still fails to provide consumers with an acceptable value proposition.</p>
<p>To get to a health care system that delivers value for consumers, we need to start holding the health care industry to a higher standard on cost and quality; we need to reform a broken pharmaceutical development system that’s leading to skyrocketing drug costs; we need to invest in prevention and empower patients to keep themselves healthy and out of the hospital. This legislation does none of these things, and should be rejected.</p>
<p>Although providing states with flexibility to design their own health care financing systems could in theory open opportunities for states to pursue efforts to improve the value proposition of health care, tying this flexibility to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/21/health/graham-cassidy-obamacare-repeal-.html?mcubz=3">massive budget cuts and an unrealistically short implementation timetable for states</a>—only two years to overhaul 1/6 of the economy—is far more likely to lead to chaos than to productive policymaking. In the chaos caused by this legislation, <a href="http://actuary.org/files/publications/GCHJ_092217.pdf">experts predict</a> that premiums will go up even further and health insurers may exit markets. The health care system as a whole will be in an even worse position to make the changes American consumers desperately need.</p>
<p>We urge the Senate to go back to the drawing board and put together a <a href="http://uspirg.org/issues/usp/make-health-care-work-better-america">real plan</a> to make health care work better for American consumers.</p>
</div>
<div class="field field-name-field-term-topics field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">
<a href="/topics/health-care" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Health Care</a>
</div>
<div class="field field-name-field-shared-summary field-type-text-long field-label-hidden">
<p>The latest version of health care legislation before the U.S. Senate remains very dangerous for American consumers, and we urge a “no” vote.</p>
</div>
Mon, 25 Sep 2017 22:04:12 +0000tmccann57546 at https://texpirg.orghttps://texpirg.org/news/usp/our-statement-opposition-graham-cassidy-health-care-bill#commentsOur Statement on the Failure of the US Senate Health Care Billhttps://texpirg.org/news/usp/our-statement-failure-us-senate-health-care-bill
<div class="field field-name-field-newsrelease-status field-type-text field-label-hidden">
For Immediate Release
</div>
<div class="field field-name-field-shared-post-date field-type-datetime field-label-hidden">
<span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2017-07-28T00:00:00-04:00">Friday, July 28, 2017</span>
</div>
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden">
<p><em>Statement by Jesse Ellis O’Brien, US PIRG Health Care Advocate, on the apparent failure of the US Senate plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act</em></p>
<p>American consumers can breathe a sigh of relief today. The <a href="http://www.uspirg.org/news/usp/our-statement-senate-health-care-bill">legislation</a> that was narrowly defeated in the US Senate last night threatened to spark chaos in health insurance markets, raise costs, degrade quality of care, weaken protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and cause millions of Americans to lose health coverage. The Senate’s <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/27/us/politics/obamacare-partial-repeal-senate-republicans-revolt.html">49-51 vote</a> signals the apparent failure of Congress’s effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare), at least for now.</p>
<p>Although consumers should be relieved by the failure of the <a href="http://www.uspirg.org/blogs/blog/usp/our-statement-american-health-care-act">dangerous</a> legislation <a href="http://www.uspirg.org/news/usp/our-statement-senate-health-care-bill">proposed</a> so far, the fact is that our health care system is still failing consumers. Now that Congress has reached a deadlock in the current debate, policymakers should take the opportunity to begin to address the real problems with the American health care system. </p>
<p>It’s time to go back to the drawing board and put together a <a href="http://uspirg.org/issues/usp/make-health-care-work-better-america">plan for the kind of health reform that American consumers need and want.</a> Real reform would grapple with the fact that the health care status quo is failing to provide an acceptable value proposition for consumers. </p>
<p>Health care costs too much in this country, not because too many people have access to it, but because the care is too expensive. Unjustifiably high costs haunt the U.S. health care system, from <a href="http://am.blogs.cnn.com/2010/03/01/health-care-prescription-for-waste-1000-toothbrush/">$1,000 hospital toothbrushes</a> to giant <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=8&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiQ5-DN-IHVAhUBR2MKHYMqDN4QFghWMAc&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nbcnews.com%2Fbusiness%2Fconsumer%2Finsulin-new-epipen-families-facing-sticker-shock-over-400-percent-n667536&amp;usg=AFQjCNGL9ONCrgxLDSeQXIPw4Kgzif-Oig">price hikes</a> for decades-old medicines like insulin. And often the cheapest and most effective methods of treatment are not used because the system isn’t <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/08/13/big-med">set up to deliver them.</a></p>
<p>Fortunately, some of the best ways to improve the quality of our health care would also help contain costs. For example, expanding research into what techniques and treatments actually work best to bring about healthy outcomes, giving providers rational incentives to provide the kinds of care proven to work best, making prescription drug pricing fairer for consumers, and making sure consumers have access to pricing for services or treatments before the treatments are performed.</p>
<p>If policymakers want to deliver real reform, there are plenty of <a href="http://uspirg.org/issues/usp/make-health-care-work-better-america">pragmatic, common-sense measures</a> that would make a real difference.</p>
<p>We urge Congress to begin work on a real plan to make health care work better for American consumers.</p>
</div>
<div class="field field-name-field-term-topics field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">
<div class="field-item even">
<a href="/topics/public-health" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Public Health</a> </div>
<div class="field-item odd">
<a href="/topics/health-care" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Health Care</a> </div>
</div>
<div class="field field-name-field-shared-organization field-type-text field-label-hidden">
U.S. PIRG
</div>
<div class="field field-name-field-shared-summary field-type-text-long field-label-hidden">
<p>American consumers can breathe a sigh of relief today. The legislation that was narrowly defeated in the US Senate last night threatened to spark chaos in health insurance markets, raise costs, degrade quality of care, weaken protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and cause millions of Americans to lose health coverage.</p>
</div>
Fri, 28 Jul 2017 22:06:46 +0000justin56936 at https://texpirg.orghttps://texpirg.org/news/usp/our-statement-failure-us-senate-health-care-bill#commentsOur Statement on Senate Health Care Billhttps://texpirg.org/news/usp/our-statement-senate-health-care-bill
<div class="field field-name-field-newsrelease-status field-type-text field-label-hidden">
For Immediate Release
</div>
<div class="field field-name-field-shared-post-date field-type-datetime field-label-hidden">
<span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2017-06-22T00:00:00-04:00">Thursday, June 22, 2017</span>
</div>
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden">
<p style="text-align: left;" align="center"><em>Statement by Jesse Ellis O’Brien, TexPIRG Health Care Advocate, on public release of the “</em><em><a href="https://www.budget.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/SENATEHEALTHCARE.pdf">Better Care Reconciliation Act</a>.</em><em>” </em></p>
<p style="text-align: left;" align="center"><em></em>American consumers should be deeply concerned about the potential impact of this very dangerous legislation. The U.S. Senate leadership, working behind closed doors, has crafted a bill every bit as concerning as the <a href="http://www.uspirg.org/blogs/blog/usp/our-statement-american-health-care-act">American Health Care Act</a>, which <a href="http://uspirg.org/news/usp/our-statement-house-passage-american-health-care-act">passed the House</a> in May.</p>
<p>None of the superficial changes from the House bill—eliminating the continuous coverage requirement, changing the formula for (but still slashing) the subsidies that help people purchase insurance, delaying cuts to Medicaid (while making them even harsher)—are likely to change the basic facts. This bill threatens to spark chaos in health insurance markets, raise costs, degrade quality of care, weaken protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and cause millions of Americans to lose health coverage.</p>
<p>Most importantly, this bill doesn’t even begin to address the real problems with the American health care system. Real reform would grapple with the fact that the health care status quo is failing to provide an acceptable value proposition for consumers.</p>
<p>Health care costs too much in this country not because too many people have access to it—we live in an affluent society that certainly can find a way to make sure that everyone has health insurance—but because the system is simply too expensive, and there’s not enough accountability for the industry to deliver better outcomes for consumers. This legislation does not even begin to address those problems.</p>
<p>We urge the Senate to go back to the drawing board and put together a real plan to make health care work better for American consumers.</p>
</div>
<div class="field field-name-field-term-topics field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">
<a href="/topics/health-care" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Health Care</a>
</div>
<div class="field field-name-field-shared-summary field-type-text-long field-label-hidden">
<p><em>Statement by Jesse Ellis O’Brien, TexPIRG Health Care Advocate, on public release of the “<a href="https://www.budget.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/SENATEHEALTHCARE.pdf">Better Care Reconciliation Act</a>.” </em></p>
</div>
Thu, 22 Jun 2017 19:03:40 +0000tmccann56471 at https://texpirg.orghttps://texpirg.org/news/usp/our-statement-senate-health-care-bill#commentsGreat News for Consumers: Anthem Drops Bid to Take Over Cignahttps://texpirg.org/news/usp/great-news-consumers-anthem-drops-bid-take-over-cigna
<div class="field field-name-field-newsrelease-status field-type-text field-label-hidden">
For Immediate Release
</div>
<div class="field field-name-field-shared-post-date field-type-datetime field-label-hidden">
<span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2017-05-12T00:00:00-04:00">Friday, May 12, 2017</span>
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<p>This morning, health insurance giant Anthem <a href="http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20170512/NEWS/170519940?utm_campaign=socialflow&amp;utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social">dropped</a> its troubled bid to take over one of its top competitors, Cigna. A February district court decision to block the proposed merger on anti-trust grounds was recently <a href="https://wire.ama-assn.org/ama-news/appeals-court-upholds-decision-blocking-anthem-cigna-merger">upheld</a> by the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, but with Anthem’s decision today, this anti-competitive takeover bid is finally laid to rest. This development comes after months of work by TexPIRG and a broad coalition of consumer and health care groups, urging close scrutiny of the merger from state and federal regulators and raising questions and concerns about the potential impact on consumers.<a title="" href="#_ftn1">[1]</a></p>
<p>The failure of this merger bid is critical for ensuring competition in health insurance markets, which is especially important in light of some insurers <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/insurance-options-dwindle-in-some-rural-regions-1463356031">dropping coverage</a> in some parts of the country over the past year. When markets are uncompetitive, health insurers are less likely to push hard to keep down costs, improve care and improve customer service. When consumers have fewer options, those options tend to be worse and more expensive. Had this merger gone through, health insurance market competition across the country would have been substantially reduced.</p>
<p>In making the case for the merger, Anthem argued that consolidation would benefit consumers by enabling these health insurers to cut costs through administrative efficiencies, and by pushing a harder bargain with health care providers. Unfortunately, there’s no evidence that bigger is better when it comes to health insurance. Past insurance mergers have generally led to higher, not lower premiums,<a title="" href="#_ftn2">[2]</a> and research has shown that large insurers tend to hike premiums even more than their smaller competitors.<a title="" href="#_ftn3">[3]</a></p>
<p>Although it makes sense that a larger insurer would be able to negotiate lower prices with health care providers, the problem is that health insurers generally haven’t shared those savings with their members. If big health insurers were held accountable for keeping their rates reasonable and sharing cost savings with their members, mega-mergers would be less concerning for consumers. But without such assurances, major health insurance mergers should be met with skepticism at best.</p>
<p>We applaud this positive result for consumers and urge regulators to continue their close scrutiny of consolidation in health care.<br /><br clear="all" /> </p>
<p><a title="" href="#_ftnref1">[1]</a> See, e.g., an <a href="https://www.thecppc.com/single-post/2017/03/17/Major-consumer-groups-file-amicus-in-Anthem-merger-appeal">amicus brief</a> we signed along with a coalition of consumer groups in March.</p>
<p><a title="" href="#_ftnref2">[2]</a> See, e.g., <a href="http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2015/nov/evaluating-insurance-industry-consolidation">http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2015/nov/evaluating-insurance-industry-consolidation</a></p>
<p><a title="" href="#_ftnref3">[3]</a> See, e.g., Wang E &amp; Gee G. “Larger Issuers, Larger Premium Increases: Health insurance issuer competition post-ACA.” <em>Technology Science</em>, August 11, 2015. Available at <a href="http://techscience.org/a/2015081104/index2.php">http://techscience.org/a/2015081104/index2.php</a></p>
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<a href="/topics/health-care" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Health Care</a>
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<p>This morning, health insurance giant Anthem <a href="http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20170512/NEWS/170519940?utm_campaign=socialflow&amp;utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social">dropped</a> its troubled bid to take over one of its top competitors, Cigna. A February district court decision to block the proposed merger on anti-trust grounds was recently <a href="https://wire.ama-assn.org/ama-news/appeals-court-upholds-decision-blocking-anthem-cigna-merger">upheld</a> by the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, but with Anthem’s decision today, this anti-competitive takeover bid is finally laid to rest. This development comes after months of work by TexPIRG and a broad coalition of consumer and health care groups, urging close scrutiny of the merger from state and federal regulators and raising questions and concerns about the potential impact on consumers.</p>
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Fri, 12 May 2017 20:08:44 +0000tmccann55511 at https://texpirg.orghttps://texpirg.org/news/usp/great-news-consumers-anthem-drops-bid-take-over-cigna#comments